Alex Eala will continue to push for the growth of tennis in the Philippines, but the WTA rising star knows that she can only do so much on her own.
Alex Eala’s impact to Philippine sports has been tremendous over the past year, but she understands that she can’t move mountains by herself.
That is, the future of Philippine tennis isn’t entirely on her shoulders.
While Eala's rise through the WTA ranks has been the catalyst to helping tennis grow in popularity in the country, the 20-year-old knows that she can only do so much on her own.
At the end of the day, Eala said that it’s going to be a collaborative effort in order to have tennis see a sustainable path of success in the Philippines.
“I don't think I'm the one that can say that. I'm just one person. I'm just trying to do my best with the career that I have. I'm an athlete that's doing her best to compete and doing her best to represent her country," Eala said during her pre-tournament conference for the Philippine Women's Open, the country's first-ever WTA event.
“So that really doesn't depend on me. I hope with all of this attention that tennis is getting, it will grow. But that's also up to them.”
Though Eala deflected credit, her impact was evident during the first day of the Philippine Women's Open qualifiers at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Flocks of fans caught the action live, with the last two game days of the tournament already sold out. Many also engaged in community activities at the fan zone.
[RELATED: Alex Eala sees historic Philippine Women’s Open as avenue to educate Pinoys on tennis]
For the Rafa Nadal Academy scholar, it’s a good sign for the overall growth of the sport.
“Playing [with a] home crowd is an advantage. That’s so special about playing at home, the crowd and the people that support you. Pati nga sa qualis ilan na nakikita mo sa stands,” Eala said.
Growth comes naturally
But for Philippine tennis to really flourish, Eala and the rest of the community knows that a one-off thing is not enough.
The Philippine Women’s Open will kickstart growth, and how to take advantage of the good momentum will ultimately decide whether tennis succeeds here or not.
“Things will happen naturally. Having a tournament like this brings in a lot of players, a lot of good competition, a lot of matches. So I think with people or the locals being exposed to this competition and this environment, naturally, you know, they'll get into it,” said Eala.
“You know, things will happen in a natural manner. So it's really hard for me to say,” she continued.
Eala begins her stint at the Philippine Women’s Open against Alina Charaeva in the Round of 32.
[RELATED: Alex Eala taking Philippine Women’s Open ‘match by match’]
Main draw matches start on Monday, January 26, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.